Scarifier for use in removing wallpaper or the like



June 2, 1970 J. H. NORFLEET SCARIFIER FOR USE IN REMOVING WALLPAPER OR THE LIKE Filed Sept. 28, 1967 22 /4 FIG .2

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' 6 INVENTOR.

JOHN H. NORF'LEET ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,514,854 SCARIFIER FOR USE IN REMOVING WALLPAPER OR THE LIKE John H. Nor-fleet, 15006 Naples St., Cleveland, Ohio 44128 Filed Sept. 28, 1967, Ser. No. 671,374 Int. Cl. B26b 3/08, 29/00 US. Cl. 30-292 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present scarifier is for use in removing wallpaper or the like from a wall. It has a body member and a plurality of rotatable saw blades for cutting engagement with the wallpaper and brush rollers for limiting the depth of the cuts made by the saw blade. In one embodiment, the present scarifier is a hand tool, and in a second embodiment, the present sacrifier is a tool which is adapted to be power-driven.

The present invention relates ot a sacrifier for removing wallpaper or the like from a wall, and has as one of its objects to provide a novel and improved scarifier for such use which is of a highly practical and economical construction.

It is a common practice when removing wallpaper which is adhesively secured to a wall, such as a plaster or plasterboard wall, to first cut or scrape the wallpaper at various locations on the wall and then apply a fluid, such as water or steam, to the wallpaper to loosen it. The cuts made in the wallpaper enable the fluid to readily penetrate the wallpaper and loosen the adhesive so that the wallpaper can be readily and easily removed. While various scarifiers have heretofore been provided for cutting or scraping the wallpaper, they have not been entirely satisfactory because extreme care had to be exercised in their use to prevent making cuts deep enough to cause nicking, scraping, or gouging of the plaster or plasterboard wall. In use, the prior scarifiers were excessively time-consuming and were not entirely reliable in preventing damage to the plaster or plasterboard wall.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved scarifier which overcomes the abovenoted problems.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved scarifier for use in removing wallpaper or the like which includes a body member, a plurality of cutting elements carried by the body member for cutting engagement with the wallpaper, and means on the body member for engagement with the wallpaper to limit the depth of the cuts made by the cutting elements so that damage to the wall is prevented or substantially minimized.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved scarifier, as defined in the next preceding object, in which the cutting elements are in the form of saw blades rotatably supported by the body member, and in which are rollers, preferably brush rollers, rotatably supported by the body members to limit the depth of the cuts produced by these blades.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved scarifier, as defined in the penultimate preceding object, and in which the scarifier is in the form of a hand tool, and in which the means for limiting the depth of the cuts made by the cutting elements is a convex end surface on the body member adjacent the cutting elements which is engageable with the wallpaper to position the scarifier properly during the cutting operation.

The novel sacrifier of the present invention is highly effective to cut either single thickness or multiple layer wallpaper, painted or unpainted, without damaging or substantially damaging the surface of the wall to which the wallpaper is adhesively secured. The scarifier of the present invention can either be in the form of a hand tool or a tool which is adapted to be attached to a power tool, such as a power drill.

The present invention further resides in various novel constructions and arrangement of parts, and further objects, novel characteristics and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it relates and from the following detailed description of the illustrated embodiments thereof made with reference to the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and in which similar reference numerals are employed to designate corresponding parts through the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a scarifier in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevational view of the FIG. 1 scarifier, looking in the direction of the arrows 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken approximately along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are fragmentary side elevational views of the FIG. 1 scarifier, showing the same in its two alternative operational positions for cutting wallpaper on a wall;

FIG. 6 is an end elevational view of a scarifier in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the scarifier shown in FIG. 6.

As representing one embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. l-S of the drawing show a scarifier or tool 10 for use in removing wallpaper or the like 11 (FIG. 4) which is adhesively secured to a wall 12, such as a plaster or plasterboard wall. The scarifier 10, in this first embodiment, is in the form of a hand tool and comprises a body member or support 13 and a plurality of spaced rotary cutter elements 14 which cut the wallpaper when moved across it.

The body member 13 is of a generally rectangular shape and has a handle 15 at one end thereof which is adapted to be manually grasped to enable the scarifier 10 to be manually manipulated. The body member 13 can be made from any suitable material, such as wood, and has planar upper and lower surfaces 17 and 18, respectively. The body member 13 also has a rounded end 20 remote from the handle 15.

The body member 13 adjacent its end 20 rotatably supports the cutters 14. To this end, the cutters 14 are fixed to a transversely extending rod 22 at spaced locations therealong, and in any suitable manner, such as by welding the same to the rod 22. As best shown in FIG. 2, the rod 22 at its opposite ends is rotatably supported by depending legs 24, 25 of an inverted U-shaped bracket whose bottom 27 is suitably secured, as by screws (not shown), to the lower surface 18 of the body member 13.

As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cutters 14 are in the form of circular saws or saw blades having peripherally spaced cutting teeth 14a so that the wallpaper will be cut or lanced at spaced locations. The number of cutters 14 provided in the illustrated embodiment is four, although a greater or lesser number could be provided, if desired.

T 0 cut the wallpaper, the handle 15 is manually grasped to position the body member 13 at an acute angle to the wall 12 and with the cutters 14 in engagement with the wallpaper 11, as shown in FIG. 4. The sacrifier 10 is then manually moved relative to the wallpaper 11 to cause the cutters 14 to rotate about the axis of the rod 22, which extends perpendicular to the direction of movement of the sacrifier 10. The teeth 14a of the cutters 14 cut or lance J the wallpaper at spaced locations along the direction in which the scarifier 10 is moved. The cutting of the wallpaper 11 can be along vertical, horizontal or criss-cross paths and at any number of spaced locations sufiicient to enable the fluid which is to be applied to the wallpaper 11 to readily penetrate and soak behind the wallpaper to loosen the adhesive securing the wallpaper 11 to the wall 12.

In accordance with the present invention, novel means are provided to limit the depth of the cuts made by the cutters 14 and to guide the movement of the scarifier 10 so that substantially no damage to the wall 12 occurs. To this end a plurality of rollers 30 are fixed to the rod 22 at spaced locations therealong, and in any suitable manner'. The rollers 30 are preferably brush rollers having resilient, though sturdy, wire bristles which are substantially radially disposed. Each roller has a radius which is slightly less than the radius circumscribed by the outer periphery of the teeth 14a n the cutters 14. The difference in radii is preferably about the normal thickness of the wallpaper 11. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, four such rollers 30 are provided, with the outermost cutters 14 each having a pair of rollers located on either side laterally along the rod 22.

The brush rollers 30 engage the wallpaper 11 during the cutting operation and limit the depth of the cut made by the cutters 14. They also serve to provide for a sub stantially uniform depth of cut and thus serve to guide the scarifier during its movement across the wallpaper 11.

Also, it should be noted that the rounded end on the body 13 provides a convex end surface 33 positioned to engage the wallpaper 11 forwardly of the cutters 14, as shown in FIG. 4, so as to position the scarifier properly With respect to the wallpaper and guide the movement of the scarifier 10 to limit the depth of the cuts made by the cutters 14.

It has been found that the above-described scarifier construction effects a through cutting of a single layer of wallpaper while minimizing any nicking, cutting or gouging of the plaster or plasterboard wall, and that these results are obtainable by exerting only a slight force on the scarifier against the wall during the cutting operation. Greater depths of cuts, such as may be required when cutting through a double layer of wallpaper, can be effected, since the rollers are resilient, by exerting a greater force on the scarifier against the wall during the cutting operation.

However, for hard to cut or multiple layer wallpaper, a second set of cutter elements 40 carried by the body member 13 are preferably used. The cutters 40 are spikes carried by the body member 13 at spaced transverse locations adjacent the end 20. The spikes 40 project past the, 7

upper surface 17 of the body member 13 and have conical pointed ends. The spikes 40, when in engagement with the wallpaper, as shown in FIG. 5, cut or scrape the wallpaper to enable the fluid already applied or to be applied to readily penetrate the same to loosen the adhesive securing the wallpaper 11 to the wall 12.

The rounded end 20 on the body member 13 provides a convex end surface 43 for engagement with the Wallpaper to enable the fluid already applied or to be applied at the proper angle with respect to the wall, as shown in FIG. 5. The curved surface 43 also serves to guide the movement of a scarifier 10- along the wall 12 and thus, serves to limit the depth of the cuts or scrapes made by the spikes 40 so that the wall will not be damaged during the cutting operation.

As representing a second embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 6 and 7 show a scarifier for use in removing wallpaper or the like which is adapted to be rotated by a power tool. The scarifier comprises a body member 52 in the form of a metal disk having a planar end surface 53.

Rotatably supported by the disk 52 for rotation about an axis lying in a diametral plane of the disk are a plurality of alternatively spaced cutters and brush rollers 55 and 56, respectively, and with two of the rollers 56 being located adjacent the outer periphery of the disk 52. Also, two additional rollers 57 are rotatably supported by the disk 52 adjacent its outer periphery for rotation about an axis lying in a diametral plane of the disk 52 which extends perpendicular to the cliametral plane containing the axis of rotation, of the cutters 55 and rollers 56. The cutters 55 and rollers 56, 57 are of an identical construction to the'cutters 14 and rollers 30 in the embodiment of FIGS. l-S and are rotatably supported by the disk 52in the same manner that the cutters-14 and rollers 30 are rotatably supported by the body member 13 of the scarifier 10.

The scarifier 50 further includes a rod or shank 60 having one end connected with the disk via a suitable universal joint 62, such as a ball-and-socket joint. The opposite end of the rod is adapted to be inserted in the chuck of a power tool, such as a power drill (not shown).

From the foregoing, it should be apparent that when the scarifier 50 is attached to a power tool and the cutters 55 are in engagement with the wallpaper to be cut, a cutting of the wallpaper will be effected when the disk 52 is rotated by the power tool. The cutters 55 function to cut the wallpaper in the same manner as the cutters 14 of the scarifier 10 except that circular cuts are effected. The brush rollers 56, 57 limit the depth of the cuts being made by the cutters 55 in the same manner as previously described with reference to the rollers 30 of the scarifier 10. The provision of the universal joint 62 insures that the endface 53 of the disk 52 will be disposed parallel to the wall at all times during the cutting operation.

From the foregoing, it should be apparent that the hereinbefore enumerated objects and others have been accomplished and that a new and improved scarifier of a highly practical and economical construction has been provided.

Although the illustrated embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail and shown in the accompanying drawing, it should be apparent that various modifications, changes, and adaptations may be made therein, and that it is intended to cover all suchmodifications, changes and adaptations which come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A scarifier for use in removing wallpaper or the like from a wall comprising:

a body member;

a plurality of rotatable cutter blades supported by said body member for cutting the wallpaper when said body member is moved across the wallpaper;

a plurality of rollers rotatably supported by said body member for rolling engagement with the wallpaper to limit the depth of the cuts made by said blades;

and said body member having an end surface positioned for sliding engagement with the wallpaper forwardly of said blades when the latter engage the wallpaper.

2. A scarifier for use in removing wallpaper or the like from a wall comprising:

a body member;

a plurality of rotatable circular saw blades having a plurality of peripherally spaced cutting teeth and sup ported by said body member for cutting the wallpaper when said body member is moved across the walland a plurality of brush rollers having generally radially extending wire bristles and rotatably supported by said body member for rolling engagement with the wallpaper to limit the depth of the cuts made by said blades. I

3. A scarifier as defined in claim 2, wherein said circular saw blades and said brush rollers are mounted on a common rod, and including means secured to said body memher and supporting said rod from said body member, and wherein the radius of said brush rollers is less than the radius circumscribing the teeth of said circular saw blades.

4. A scarifier for use in removing wallpaper or the like from a wall comprising:

a body member including a shank which is adapted to be attached toa power tool for rotating the scarifier;

a plurality of rotatable cutter blades supported by said body member for cutting the wallpaper when said body member is moved across the wallpaper;

a plurality of rollers on said body member positioned to engage the wallpaper to limit the depth of the cuts made by said cutter blades;

a rod supporting said blades and said rollers spaced apart transversely across said body member;

and additional rollers supported from said body member on opposite sides of said rod and positioned for rolling engagement with the wallpaper.

5. A scarifier for use in removing wallpaper or the like from a wall comprising:

a body member having a handle at one end which is adapted to be manually grasped;

a plurality of spaced circular blades rotatably supported from said body member at its other end for cutting engagement with the wallpaper when said body member is moved across the wallpaper:

and means on said body member located adjacent said blades and engageable with the wallpaper for guiding the scarifier during its movement across the wall- References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Jensik 30-365 Fischer 30-365 Bartlett 30-167 X Johnston 30-292 X Stine 30292 Marion 30292 X Merrick 30-365 Weber 3()292 X ROBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Examiner I. C. PETERS, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X..R, 

